


romance in five acts

by carolinecrane



Category: So You Think You Can Dance RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-25
Updated: 2010-12-25
Packaged: 2017-10-14 02:23:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,244
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/144300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carolinecrane/pseuds/carolinecrane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Billy always knew he wasn't going to win.</p>
            </blockquote>





	romance in five acts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [kisahawklin](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kisahawklin/gifts).



> I always had a secret thing for these two. Thanks for giving me a chance to write them! I hope this suits what you were looking for.

The first time he meets Kent Boyd, Billy thinks, _Honey, you better toughen up, or the world’s going to chew you up and spit you right back out again._

Once he gets to know Kent he still thinks it, but he can’t help hoping Kent holds onto that wide-eyed innocence, just for a little while longer. It’s not hard while they’re on the show, because it’s a competition, sure, but they’re together all the time and it’s impossible not to become sort of a family, too. So everybody looks out for Kent, and they all laugh at Robert’s dumb jokes, and they all cry when Alex’s dream is torn away again, this time by a stupid injury that could have happened to any one of them.

It’s easy to forget it’s a competition, until Billy ends up on the bottom for the second week in a row. That’s when he’s glad he decided he was going to like Kent, in spite of the wide-eyed routine that isn’t even a routine, because Kent’s the reason why Billy keeps ending up on the bottom.

Not that it’s his fault, exactly. He’s a great dancer, and Billy can’t fault him for delivering week after week. But even when he doesn’t deliver -- and come _on_ , Billy is no worse at hip-hop than Kent -- he still gets voted right up to the top, because the teen girls love him. So Kent’s taking all the ‘non-threatening gay hearthrob’ votes, and Robert and Alex are splitting the ‘hot gay guy’ votes, and Billy’s left with...not a whole lot.

And he gets it, gets that he doesn’t really fit into a mold. That’s why the producers and the judges give up hassling him about ‘butching it up’ or whatever after the first couple weeks. They just let him do his thing, which is at least not completely boring, so Billy figures he’s holding up his end of the bargain.

He knows he’s not going to make it to the end during his third consecutive week in the bottom three. So it’s no surprise that after five weeks at the bottom, the judges finally stop coming up with reasons to save him. Because he may be an interesting dancer, but America has spoken, after all, and there’s only so long the producers are willing to let the judges ignore what people want to see on their TVs every Tuesday night.

Billy doesn’t even mind going, because as much as it’s a cliche, the show really is about the experience more than the win. It’s about getting exposure to some great choreographers, and it’s about making a name for themselves as dancers. And he’s done that, even though he didn’t get as far as he hoped. He’s made a few connections and even more friendships, and people are going to remember him, so he’s gotten what he came here for.

Robert finds him backstage after the interviews are done, when he’s exhausted and he doesn’t think he can smile for one more second. Not that he’s sad about going; he’s sad about _leaving_ , sure, but it’s not the same. But it’s been a long night, and the adrenaline’s bad enough, but dancing on top of that just leaves them all exhausted, even if they don’t have to spend an hour after the show talking to the press about what a great experience it’s been and how grateful they are for the opportunity.

Billy rolls his eyes and lets Robert pull him into a hug, holds on more because it feels nice to let somebody else prop him up than because he really needs the comfort.

“I’m fine,” Billy mumbles into Robert’s neck, and when Robert laughs it vibrates in his chest and down Billy’s spine.

“Yeah, you sound awesome.” Robert pulls back to look at him, making that serious face Billy hardly ever sees, and he rolls his eyes again and leans in to kiss him until Robert looks like Robert again.

“Really, I’m fine. Stop acting like somebody died. It’s not like we’re never going to see each other again.”

“It’s not going to be the same around here without you,” Robert says, and he sounds a little lost, like he’s really not sure what he’ll do without Billy around. It’s...sweet, and a little unexpected, and Billy’s not sure if their little shomance is actually going anywhere, but now that he’s leaving it feels like it could, for the first time.

“That goes without saying,” Billy answers, and when Robert laughs he feels the ground under his feet even out again. “Anyway, you can still flirt with Kent. It’s kind of cute, how confused he gets.”

Robert smiles at him, but there’s something about the look in his eyes that makes Billy’s heart pound as though he’s been dancing for hours. “Call me when you get home, okay? I mean, I know there’s the tour and all, but I just...just call.”

“Okay,” Billy says, and he doesn’t make a joke for once. He just lets Robert pull him close -- Robert, his friend, who almost kept Billy off the show altogether, and who would have thought they’d end up like this? -- and lets Robert kiss him one more time.

It’s goodbye, but just for a little while, Billy reminds himself. They’ve still got the tour, and then after that...well, they've been friends for awhile now, so there's no reason they can't keep being more. There's the fact that they live on opposite coasts, sure, but Billy's been finding excuses to get Robert to New York for ages now, so this is just a little more incentive.

A production assistant skids down the hall with that wide, hunted look the P.A.s always have, zeroing in on Billy and pointedly ignoring the other contestant currently wrapped around him. “Your car’s here. Get going or you’ll miss your flight.”

“I wonder what they do to you if you miss your flight,” Billy says, but he eases out of Robert’s grip and grins up at him. “Win this thing for the butch gay guys, huh?”

Robert’s forehead wrinkles in a frown, and he tilts his head to the side. “Do we know any butch gay guys?”

“There’s Travis,” Billy says. “Mark, maybe?”

“I don’t think either of them qualify. Pretty sure I don’t qualify either, but thanks for the compliment.” Robert smiles and curves his hand around Billy’s cheek, then he kisses him one more time and shoves him in the direction the P.A. disappeared. “Go, or we’re going to find out what happens if you miss your flight.”

Billy thinks about saying to hell with it and finding out. He thinks about telling Robert he doesn’t care if they make him _walk_ back to New York, he’s not going anywhere until tomorrow. It’s tempting, but if he has to pay for his own flight home his father will kill him, so in the end he waves and hurries down the hall before he can change his mind.

Every eliminated contestant says the show’s about the experience. Billy says it himself at least a dozen times during his own interviews. It’s kind of bullshit and they all know it, because nobody _likes_ to lose. But Robert’s going to be waiting for Billy to call later, and it sounds like he doesn’t want this to be the end of things between them, so Billy figures he came out okay in the end.


End file.
